19 Jul Pride of Mindanao: Cagayan de Oro’s Pia Wurtzbach Meets Davao’s Duterte!
On Sunday, July 18, the first Miss Universe and the first President from Mindanao finally met.
The current Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach meets President Rodrigo Duterte at Malacañang yesterday with the members of the Miss Universe organization. Those who are present in the courtesy call included Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Foundation; Shawn Maclaine, vice president for marketing and business development; and Esther Swan, Miss Universe Foundation manager.
On a caption from Pia’s selfie with the president, she wrote, “What an honor to meet our new President, Rodrigo Duterte. First Mindanaon president and first Mindanaon Miss Universe.”
Before being President, Duterte served Davao City as city mayor for more than 20 years, while Pia is from Cagayan de Oro City.
Pia and Digong talked about the plans to promote the Philippines, more specifically about the possible hosting of the next Miss Universe pageant that can be held here in the Philippines.
Pia said, “It is my personal dream and of majority of the Filipinos to see the Miss Universe pageant held here.”
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo previously said that Duterte agreed to host the 2017 Miss Universe pageant in Manila. This will greatly enhance the tourism exposure in the country.
While many are worried about the budget for the event, Teo stated that the event would be sponsored by the private sector.
She said, “his undertaking would entail no expense on the part of the government and it would give a boost to businesses and livelihood of millions of Filipinos.”
If approved, the Department of Tourism plans to have the segments of the beauty pageant held in the Islands of Palawan, Boracay, and Cebu, which topped the World’s Best Islands 2016 awards by New York-based Travel & Leisure magazine.
No Comments